Liverpool manager Bob Paisley ran up against a permanent problem in vetting continental teams when he checked on European Cup opponents Benfica last weekend. Although facilities for observers and spectators alike are usually first class, they fall down in one vital area - no programmes, and therefore no reliable information about players' names. It happened again in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. He told me "It is a marvellous stadium, very open, and although the pitch was more brown than I thought it would be in that climate, the pitch is excellent. No programmes meant I could not find out the names of the Benfica players but, of course, I was able to make a note of jersey numbers. That will be a help when we check again on Benfica. Tom Saunders will be seeing them again the next two weekends. I'll tell him what players to watch for, going on their numbers - I hope they don't change every week! I was able to pick up a lot of information about individual players which made the trip worthwhile. But the game was so one sided that Benfica were never extended. They were playing Riopele, a promoted team, and they were able to saunter through. Riopele are used to playing on a dust pitch and they could not get the hang of playing on grass. It was clear, however, that Benfica are a well organised side, particularly in defence. I am sure that Tom will get a good look at them when he sees them in two much more difficult games." Tom Saunders will see two local derbies - against Sporting Lisbon in the Benfica stadium a week tomorrow, and against another Lisbon side, Belenenses, away the following Sunday. Sporting Lisbon finished second to Benfica in the Portuguese League last season. The three Liverpool visits to Lisbon are typical of the care and thoroughness of their European spying missions.

General Secretary Peter Robinson was able last weekend to arrange hotel accommodation in Estoril for the trip and liaise with his opposite number on kick-off time, training facilities, and the like. Kick-off will probably be 9:45 PM, the latest Liverpool have ever started in Europe. Portuguese time is the same as British winter time. Mr Paisley said "The late kick-off is something we will have to absorb in our training schedule that week. We just have to get used to the idea; there is nothing we can do about it because Benfica sometimes start their games even later than that. It's their routine which we have to accept." After the match against Riopele, Paisley and Robinson met the Benfica boss, John Mortimore, former English amateur international and Chelsea centre half. It was a meeting of kindred spirits in a foreign land and they spent the rest of the evening together, having dinner at the Liverpool representative's hotel, with Mortimore's 12 year old daughter making up the dinner four. His elder daughter is in hospital in London just now and the Benfica boss has been able to spend some valuable time with her since Thursday. He returned to England with his team from Saudi Arabia, on route to Portugal, stayed in London and was at Coventry this afternoon to check on Liverpool. He is able to spend this weekend away from Lisbon because his team are only due to play a mediocre second division team in a cup-tie tomorrow. As he told me last week, he plans to see Liverpool play again before the March 1 meeting in the European Cup. He will watch them play Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final at least once, possibly the two games. With both games on Tuesday nights, it will mean he will not miss Benfica's next two vital league games against Sporting Lisbon and Belenenses, the results of which will have a big bearing on the Portuguese championship.

Someone or other from Liverpool has watched Benfica five times and after his last visit manager Bob Paisley said he found it difficult to evaluate what he had witnessed. In truth, the man whose team resume their European Cup defence on Wednesday could hardly believe his luck. Benfica - a name which evokes memories of intoxicating nights of European football, of immortal battles with Real Madrid and Manchester United, of exotic talents enchanting frenzied crowds - are now a ghastly parody of themselves. They are no more equipped to resist Liverpool's advance on the semi-finals of the European Cup than a boy with a water pistol trapped in the path of a tank. Here in Lisbon on Saturday they lumbered to a 2-0 victory against Vitoria Guimaraes to maintain a one-point lead over FC Porto in their national championship. Benfica, incredibly, have yet to lose a match this season. That is both a savage commentary on the conditions of Portuguese football and a tribute to their reputation. The days are long gone when Eusebio's Eagles of Benfica soared over Europe. Benfica are trading on the last shreds of their tradition. And they know it. Ruiz Silva, who had charge of the team this weekend while their English manager, John Mortimore, took stock of Liverpool's performance against Manchester United, admitted: 'We no longer have the best even of the good players left in Portugal. The rich clubs of the industrial north, like Porto, can pay more than Benfica and the time is finished when every footballer dreamed of playing for our club. But still, we have the name and many teams are beaten by their inferiority complex towards Benfica.' The proof was there on Saturday as Guimaraes came down from the north, played prettily enough, but could not convince themselves they had the right to win in Lisbon.

But Benfica know, deep down, that Liverpool will afford them no such exaggerated respect. Like a fading beauty caught in the mirror they do their best to repair the fractures in their football caused by revolution in Portugal and the secession of the colonies which spawned the likes of Eusebio. Humberto, returned from France to try to prop up Benfica's fumbling defence, says: 'Perhaps we have a 15 per cent chance against Liverpool. We are a young team and maybe, on the night, the inspiration will be on us and we can spirit up the surprise.’ Toni, who captains them from midfield and who scored the first goal against Guimaraes with an intelligent chip, says: 'When I heard we were drawn against Liverpool, against the champions, against the strength of English football, I became a pessimist. We hope for the impossible.’ In reality, the last of their slender hopes went on Saturday when Fernando Chalana, Benfica's one player with pretentions to world class limped off with a strained thigh muscle. But they will get him out there on Wednesday because without Chalana the Stadium of Light has no real star. Alberto, their lean, black full-back, is expected to be recovered from injury by Wednesday. But he will need to be Horatio at the Bridge to rescue Benfica's suspect defence. Valiantly, Benfica rehearsed on Saturday the tactics they hope might unhinge the European champions - floated chips to forwards making flat runs across the defensive line of four. In all honesty they will only get the chance if Liverpool approach the first leg of this quarter final with their customary caution when away from home. If their study of Benfica has convinced them that there is little to beat in Portugal, Liverpool could achieve a stunning result here.

Liverpool gave a performance of remarkable character and ability in rain-lashed Lisbon last night to take a firm grip on a semi-final place in the European Cup. In defeating Benfica 2-1, they not only came from behind to conquer a side that had not lost in its previous 46 games but, also, they overcame some of the most difficult conditions they've experienced in 14 years of European competition. As non-stop rain turned an already heavy pitch into a bog, it was a miracle the game started and a bigger miracle that it finished. But the pinpricks of shocking viewing conditions and worse playing conditions were forgotten in a memorable display. The football was of a far higher quality than anyone had a right to expect in such weather. It was Benfica who wilted first, Benfica whose heads dropped long before the end. Liverpool mixed skill with stamina to defy the conditions in a totally professional display. They showed themselves to be adaptable above all else as they splashed through the water as though they were wearing flippers rather than football boots. They were much more positive than Benfica, whose 70,000 fans sat or stood in silence under a vast forest of umbrellas as Liverpool took control for long spells. The home supporters only had brief moments of joy as Liverpool pushed forward from the start, with the wind and rain at their backs. The four men in midfield, well led by Callaghan, who was superbly supported by Kennedy, McDermott and Case, kept up a steady pressure with Dalglish and Heighway battling bravely against a strong defence. Bento saved well from Callaghan, and Kennedy drove a shot just wide in the early stages before Benfica struck in telling style in the 18th minute. A good clearance from defence reached Nene racing down the middle in only their second attack and he put them in front with a well-placed shot as Clemence came out. It was a shock to Liverpool to trail so early in the game because they had been gradually getting a definite grip.

But they did not panic, maintained their steady build up from midfield and deservedly equalised 20 minutes later. They were down to 10 men when they scored. Thompson had just limped off with a groin strain. The hard tackling Eurico brought down Dalglish just outside the area. Case took the free kick and blasted a right foot shot wide of the defensive wall. Bento got his hands to the ball but could not hold it. It was the crisis point in the game - Liverpool had gained the vital away goal. Hansen came on for Thompson before play restarted and slotted smoothly into a defence superbly marshalled by man-of-the-match Smith. Still the rain lashed down as Liverpool had to face the drenching elements in the second half. It was almost like playing in a waterfall; water, water everywhere. Benfica had their best attacking spell at the start of the second half - the gambler’s last throw. But Smith, Hughes, Neal and Hansen defended brilliantly; Clemence handling the wet ball with sure precision. He touched over a good shot by Coelho and Sheu went close as well. Alberto had a header cleared in a goalmouth tangle but Liverpool did not look like failing again. Gradually, they took command once more, and Hughes clinched his return to top form with his first goal of the season 17 minutes from the end. From deep on the left wing, he aimed a centre-cum-shot towards the far post, deceiving Bento, who had come out towards the near post. The ball swerved over and behind the keeper for the winning goal. It was all over; the issue was settled. Benfica looked dispirited and broken as their fans gave them the bird. Despite good defensive displays from Alberto and Eurico, and some fine midfield touches by Pietra, they had never mastered the problems as Liverpool did. It was commanding, efficient European-style performance by Liverpool in the famous Stadium of Light. It should now be renamed the Stadium of Water.

Liverpool last night put themselves firmly on the way to the semi-finals in their defence of the European Cup by scoring two goals against Benfica in the Stadium of Light. They fell into arrears in 13 minutes when Nene scored but Case equalised in 33 minutes. In 76 minutes skipper Emlyn Hughes strode on into the attack and lobbed the ball over Bento to give Liverpool the lead, and with it almost certainly a passport through the semi-finals. Liverpool kicked off in a torrential downpour, which drenched most of the crowd in the largely open air Stadium, and it was soon apparent that the conditions would play a major part. The pitch was heavy in the extreme, with the centre circle a pitch of clinging mud, and there were puddles in many places which made it almost impossible to place a pass with accuracy. As expected, Liverpool played Heighway and Dalglish as a lone pair of front runners, with four men in midfield. Callaghan coming in for the cup-tied Souness and McDermott and Case making up the quartet with Kennedy. Benfica did most of the early pressing, but Liverpool soon settled down and began to enjoy more of the play though the Portuguese were quick to get nine, ten, and sometimes eleven men back behind the ball. However, the champions looked as though they were about to take command when they were completely caught out by a fine through ball down the middle, which enabled Nene to beat Clemence with painful ease. Typically, Liverpool reacted strongly and were soon pressing forward again, with both Hughes and Kennedy prominent down the left flank. McDermott almost got through to reach a shrewd chip by Dalglish and then a fine combined movement, in which Hughes featured prominently, ended with Kennedy finding Neal unmarked on the right of the Benfica penalty area.

Neal fired in a fierce shot with the goalkeeper unsighted, but unfortunately the ball flashed across the face of the goal. Liverpool continued to press so strongly that the match might have been played at Anfield, though they created few clear chances, and after half an hour they got the break they wanted. A free kick was awarded just outside the Benfica penalty area for a foul on Heighway, and as McDermott shaped to take the kick, Case blasted the ball home. It was yet another of the fine goals the Liverpool midfield man has scored in European competition, and was also the first conceded by the Portuguese champions against overseas opposition this season. Almost unnoticed, Liverpool made their first substitution just before the interval, with Alan Hansen coming on for Phil Thompson, who appeared to have pulled a muscle. Liverpool's pressure was bound to pay off, and it was no surprise when skipper Emlyn Hughes put them in in front with a beautifully controlled chip from Dalglish's pass, following a superb combined movement in which half a dozen players took part. Liverpool almost took the lead on the resumption, with McDermott scraping the bar with a terrific shot from Case's pass. There followed a spell of intense Benfica pressure during which Clemence saved from Nene and Toni, before Tommy Smith eased the pressure. As the Portuguese fought desperately to get in front, their defence began to show more gaps and Liverpool came near to scoring on several occasions. Dalglish walked the ball round the goalkeeper only to be whistled up for offside and a moment later the same player headed against the bar.

Liverpool took a significant step towards a further appearance in the semi-finals of the European Cup last night when they defeated Benfica 2-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final, weathering a saturated evening in the Stadium of Light better than the Portuguese champions after an extremely uncertain start. When Nene put Benfica ahead in the first quarter of an hour it seemed that Liverpool's grip on the European Cup might be slipping from their grasp but, once Case had brought the scores level, they regained their composure and gradually took the game to their opponents. By the time Hughes put them ahead 13 minutes from the end there was little chance of Benfica saving the game and avoiding their first defeat in 47 matches. All in all, it was a remarkable example of adaptability by the European Champions in conditions which would have reduced many teams to despair. Wind and rain sweeping in from the Atlantic turned the Stadium of Light into a stadium of umbrellas and the thousands of glistening black brollies gave the scene an almost sinister appearance. Both sides were less concerned with the background than with the business of keeping their feet on a pitch that was waterlogged before the kickoff and made the normal business of running and turning an outstanding achievement of good balance. As expected, Liverpool produced their usual pattern of play for an away leg with only Dalglish and Heighway up at the start and two lines of four ranged passively behind them. Benfica also played four men across the middle but their attitude had to be one of attack and after 13 minutes they took the lead with a goal that caught Liverpool's defence looking as unhappy and bedraggled as the few hundred members of the kop did on the terraces, conspicuous as the only people in the ground without umbrellas. Although it was a simple goal, it was superbly taken. Nene playing a one-two with Sheu, accelerating through a huge gap between Smith and Thompson for the return, and sending a resounding shot past the advancing Clemence. In truth, Liverpool had been punished for an over-cautious attitude but, as things turned out, the goal did their overall performance a lot of good for they had to change their tactics sufficiently early in the game to achieve an attacking rhythm of their own. From the start Heighway and Kennedy had been finding space on the left, drawing the Portuguese defence towards them, and quickly switching the point of attack across to Neal, consistently overlapping on the opposite wing.

Ten minutes before half time Kennedy, showing good control in holding off three defenders, forced the ball out to Heighway and as it came back across the face of the defence, Callaghan sent a shot low through a crowd of players that nearly surprised the goalkeeper by the far post. A minute later Bento was surprised again and this time Liverpool scored. After Dalglish had been fouled just outside the penalty area, Callaghan ran over the ball at the free kick and Case sent a firmly struck shot through the line of defenders, the ball skidding through the goalkeeper's arms. On a dry night he would probably have saved the shot; although last night he was badly unsighted. Liverpool had had to make a change in defence, Thompson limping off and being replaced by Hansen, but they never appeared as exposed at the back as in the first 15 minutes, although at the start of the second half Clemence had to move quickly to tip over the bar a centre from Lopes which dipped sharply. Kennedy, McDermott, Callaghan, and Case mounted attacks of increasing pace and penetration and Liverpool might have gone ahead past the hour when Kennedy found Case in a scoring position, only to see Case fall over in the thick mud before he could shoot. But all the signs were, if any team was going to win, then it would almost certainly be Liverpool for Benfica had never recaptured their earlier momentum in spite of the individual skills of Nene and Toni. So when Liverpool at last took the lead in the 77th minute it was merely a reflection of the game as a whole. McDermott and Neal worked the ball up the right, Case and Dalglish found Hughes loping quietly through a large gap on the left, and the Liverpool captain caught Bento off his line with a long, high lob that sailed into the far corner of the net. Liverpool held their lead easily enough after that, although they were a little lucky not to concede a penalty after Smith had tackled Pietra a little late. There can be little doubt now that Liverpool will complete the removal of Benfica at Anfield in a fortnight's time, although there must still be doubts about their ability to retain the European Cup while their defence suffers from the sort of collective errors that might have cost them dearly in those awkward early stages.